Darkest Dungeon 2’s Kingdoms mode, a free-to-play reimagining of the turn-based roguelike roadtrip RPG, will be released in three modules, Red Hook has announced. The first of this spooky trio, Hunger Of The Beast Clan, is set to launch in Q4 2024, which is between October 1 and December 31.
It will accompany a new paid DLC for Darkest Dungeon 2, Inhuman Bondage, which introduces a new region, a new hero with “… unique” mechanics, and a new faction of seemingly excrement-themed demons to slaughter.
In case you missed it, I spoke to Red Hook about the Kingdoms update at this year's GDC. It's both a “remix album” of ideas from every Darkest Dungeon game and a top-down strategy spin-off where you move wagons of heroes around a node-based map, defending taverns from waves of supernatural creatures. In addition to training and equipping your heroes and keeping them sane, you'll have to complete a chain of quests to hunt down a boss. The combat is very similar to that of Darkest Dungeon 2's main campaign, but the recruitment and progression of heroes is reminiscent of the town-dungeon loop of the first game.
At first glance, each Realm module will introduce a new enemy faction. As expected, the Hunger Of The Beast clan features the Beastmen, a marauding mass of pugnacious pigs. Back at GDC, Red Hook told me the other two factions are the Coven (witches) and the Crimson Courtiers (insect vampires that inflict permanent debuffs). No idea what order they'll arrive in.
As for the Inhuman Bondage DLC, the Steam announcement post hints at the prospect of “ancient tombs oozing the gelatinous goo of a thousand corpses.” Liquid corpse excrement, how fun! The new area is the Catacombs, which is said to be about the same size as the existing Lock, an optional region that's impossible to map and therefore unpredictable. I wonder if it'll be as confusing. It looks like it's going to smell. Thank goodness “digital smell technology” never became mainstream, huh?
I'm also quite curious about this new hero. Darkest Dungeon heroes aren't exactly known for playing fantasy RPG classes directly, so if they explicitly call this one “… unique,” it must be a twisted creation indeed. Look at those dots, which ooze suspense. Could the new hero be made of gelatinous night dirt? Yeah, let's linger on that image.